This blog is born to document a process that has already begun, a process of community-building, purposeful and sustainable living, and creative inspiration. This process cannot happen alone, and so I expect that this blog will grow to include the voices of others who are a part of the process. As yet we have not come together to formulate specific goals, but my view of the future and my personal goals have already been transformed. My friend Scott and I have been talking, and we hope to find a place outside of Vancouver that we can grow plants and raise animals on, and do creative projects and host gatherings, and be connected to the earth. We are in general a mostly queer and very open group of compassionate and resourceful people, and I'm sure we will uphold these values as we grow and define our community. How this might happen, and what it might look like, we don't know. Who will ultimately be involved, I can't say for sure. I hope to include many of my chosen family and closest friends. You are invited to watch this process unfold...
 |
| photo by Vivienne Troy |
The seed of transformation was planted sometime early on in the year, perhaps in March when one of my dear friend Vivenne brought Scott and I to a Burn in the Forest fundraiser party,
Recharge. It was our first Burn event, and it led to us attending
Burn in the Forest (BitF) this summer (2014)! For first-timers we went all out, making our own yurt and about 1500 baked goods that we handed out at our board games café.
 |
| photo by Vivienne Troy |
The adventure was a great success, and one we are eager to repeat with even more gusto next year. More than a singular event or an annual festivity, this coming together of my friends and chosen family was a bonding moment that fertilized the soil for the development of a majestic new idea. As burner events are known for doing, BitF inspired me to increase my creativity and to work on building community after I returned from the event. I began hatching a scheme with Scott (we've been friends for 18 years, since the 7th grade!) to build a sustainable community together, on some land, somewhere not too far from Vancouver.
At the same time that we were finishing up our preparations for BitF, I had been watching youtube videos and documentaries about tiny homes (
Tiny,
We the Tiny House People,
Tiny Homes, etc.), and I was inspired by that, too. Building a tiny house seemed like an attainable goal, an investment in the ballpark of $25000 that we could split between a few friends. As I researched tiny home information for Vancouver, Canada, I came across a unique tiny house building workshop series organized by
Zee Kesler and signed up! With almost no prior experience with construction, using power tools, or home building, the course has been invaluable. Now I understand about air and water barriers and how to install windows!
 |
| photo montage by Zee Kesler |
Further inspired, Scott and I have been learning about how to
find land, how to
establish a community, how to
use SketchUp to design a tiny home, and even how to
farm crickets for human consumption! I have shared just single samples of our findings behind the links above, but it is only a taste of what is to come as I document this process that I will call TinyHomeland.
